We had a street party in our street a few weeks back. Turns out two of my neighbours are in the autonomous vehicle industry - one runs the California research lab for a major manufacturer, the other founded a startup in the field. We had a long chat and they are both firmly of the opinion that AV technology is fine for highways and the like, but will never be able to handle urban streets like the one we were standing in. There are just too many false cues and strange things going on. If I had to routinely drive say I-5 to LA, or the M6 to Manchester, I would be delighted to have something that would drive up and down those highways. But the first and last mile of every journey, no thanks. Which is fine, as long as you don't buy into the whole AV Kool-Aid of autonomous taxis replacing private cars and so on.